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Inside Washington (09/10/2009)

* WASHINGTON (9/11/09)--National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) board member Michael E. Fryzel welcomed representatives from FirstCorp CU, Phoenix, to the NCUA headquarters in Alexandria, Va., Wednesday. Fryzel stressed the importance of continuing credit union support for the corporate system. “It is important that natural person credit unions maintain a high degree of support for the corporate system,” he said. This system was created, managed and directed by credit unions, and the future form and function of the corporates is directly dependent on involvement by member credit unions.” From left are: Dave Doss, chairman, FirstCorp CU; Fryzel; Stacy Glidden, FirstCorp Chief Operating Officer, and Pete Pritts, FirstCorp CU chairman and Arizona State CU CEO. (Photo provided by the National Credit Union Administration) ... * WASHINGTON (9/11/09)--Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) has said he will remain chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, and financial observers predict that his commitment to that and health care reform could slow financial regulatory reform. Some industry observers speculated that Dodd would succeed the late Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) as chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (American Banker Sept. 10). Jaret Seiberg, financial services policy analyst for the Washington Research Group, commented that it would have been tough for the Senate to pass a financial reform bill this year even if Dodd had no other commitments. Brian Gardner, KBW Inc. analyst, said the timeline for financial services legislation is “up in the air” and will keep Washington and Wall Street guessing for the next couple months ... * WASHINGTON (9/11/09)--The Internal Revenue Service has released guidance for employer comparable contributions to Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). The guidance relates to the manner and method of reporting and paying the excise tax. The regulations affect employers contributing to employees’ HSAs and Archer MSAs, employers or employee organizations that sponsor a group health plan and certain third parties ... * WASHINGTON (9/11/09)--On Wednesday, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) approved a rule that would extend the temporary increase in the standard maximum deposit insurance amount to $250,000 through Dec. 31, 2013 and the 2008 interim rules regarding revocable trust accounts and mortgage servicing accounts ...